Desperate and tainted: Malaysia's leadership crisis

Desperate and tainted: Malaysia's leadership crisis, a well-written article.

"Until the resignation in 2003 of prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, politics were entirely predictable. Now they are becoming highly unpredictable."

"The Government has only itself to blame. The media is closely controlled and widely disbelieved. The vacuum of information and opinion has been filled by two websites - malaysiakini.com and malaysiatoday.com - which have become highly influential, outspoken and merciless towards the Government."

"Corruption is rife in UMNO, which has become a vehicle for personal enrichment."

"Undoubtedly the system of positive discrimination in favour of Malays has outlived its usefulness, but any reforms will be difficult and potentially fraught. Hopefully the kind of change that Malaysia now requires can, in time, be achieved without losing its most precious achievement. "

--Martin Jacques